Overhead piano cabinet



Oct. 9

' F. PANICO OVERHEAD PIANO CABINET Filed March 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 9,1923. 7 1,470,243

1F. PANICO OVERHEAD PIANO CABINET Filed March 9, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet z INVENTOR. Zia/766560 29/ 7/60 Patented Oct, 9, 19233..

FRANCESCO PANICO, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

Application filed March 9, 1923. Serial No. 623,855.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that'l, FnANcnsoo PAnIoo, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Overhead Piano Cabinet, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cabinets and more particularly cabinets adapted to house music, automatic player piano rolls, books or other articles, Pianos and especially automatic player pianos require as an adjunct a cabinet to hold the music or rolls which are usedin conjunction with theipiano andit has long been the practice to provide a separate and independent cabinet which is usually set along side of the piano or in some other part of the room for this purpose. In the modern apartments however where the roomsare small, there is not sufiicient room for such an additional article of furniture and for this reason i in many cases this cabinet must be dispensed with and the music rolls or music are stored on top of the piano where they are unsightly, and accumulate dust.

l Vith the toregoing considerations in mind, the object of the present invention is to provide a music cabinet of large capacity which may be used in conjunction with a piano without occupying any appreciable floor space and to this end the invention embodies a cabinet or receptacle provided with suitable doors and of a length substantially the same as or slightly greater than the length, of the piano. Thiscabinet is provided with suitable legs or standards sufficiently tall and so spaced apart thatthey may rest upon the floor at the opposite ends 01? the piano, and project upwardly along the sides thereotto support the cabinet above the top of the piano and free from engagement therewith. The cabinet is preferably positioned at such elevation to leave a clearance space of from four to six inches above the piano top so as, to permit the top of the piano to be raised as is commonly done by players when they wish to obtain the maximum volume of the piano, The cabinet is thus supported above the piano and entirely independent thereof and its legs or standards are preferably provided with casters or rollers which enable it to be moved away from the piano tor dusting.

The floor space occupied'by such acabi-net is negligible and it can be used in practically any apartment where a piano can be used.

An important feature of the invention is that the cabinet is supported entirely independently of the piano and exerts no damping efiect thereon nor is it apt to sc-ratchor mar the finish of the instrument. Being of substantially the same length of the piano, it is of large capacity and will hold a large number of rolls, many more. in f acn than could be obtained in the ordinary fioor cabinet which is commonly in vogue. i

Features of the invention, other than those specified, will be apparent from the hereinaften detailed description and claims, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate different practical embodiments of the invention," but the constructions therein shown are to be understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the inven tion.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an overheadcabinet embodying the present invention, showing thesame associated with a piano which in this view is shown in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a perspective detail showing the manner; in which the cabinet may be demountably associated with legs or stand ards.

Figure 3 is a back view of the cabinet illustrating the upper portions of the standards and a modified manner of attachment of the cabinet to the standard; and,

Figure 4t is a tragmental; perspective of the construction shown in Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates an upright piano of the usual conventional "form, which in Figure 1 is shown in dotted lines in perspective. 2 designates two standards which are adai'ited to rest upon the floor at either endot the piano and are practice preferably provided with casters or rollers. These standards are shown as bpiltup structu allyl from timbers suitably jointedtogether, but in practice they may he made in any other suitable manner and of; any desiredsh ape or, configuration They are considerably higher than the piano and serve to support the oppositeends of a cabinet 3 which in practice may vary in constructionf In the accompanying drawings however the cabinet is shown in the form of a receptacle having a top a, a bottom 5, a suitable back and provided interiorly with one or more shelves 6 and partitions 7. The front of the cabinet is adapted to be closed by suitable doors 8, four of which are shown. The two intermediate doors are pivoted to the end doors which are in turn hinged to the ends of the cabinet.

The cabinet 3 may be supported on the standards in different ways two of which are shown in the drawings. In Figures 1 and 2, the top 4 is shown as extending be yond the ends of the cabinet so as to rest upon the tops of the standards 2 while the standards are adapted to be tightly secured to the cabinet by threaded bolts 9, which project through holes 10 in the standards and with which are associated wing nutsll. g

This mode of attachment of the cabinet to the standards permits the assembly to be readily dismantled if the occupant of the apartment wishes to move to another apartment and enables the device to be dis mantled and moved in compacted condition wherein it is less apt to be damaged or marred.

In Figures 3 and 4, a modified form of attachment is illustrated. in this form, the cabinet 3 is of the same construction as previously described, but is provided at the opposite ends of its back with hinge plates 12. The back edge of each-standard is provided with correspondingly spaced complementary hinge plate 13 so that when the liinge plates 12 and 13 arebrought into juxtaposition a rod 14: may be slipped through the cooperating hinge plates to secure the rear of the cabinet to the rear of each standard. Each standard furthermore provided on its inner face and near its front with a wedge shaped slot 15 and mounted in juxtaposition on the contiguous end 01 the cabinet is a wedge shaped hook 16. In practice, the hooks 16 are hooked into the slots 15 and the rods 14 thereafter inserted into the hinge plates 12 and 13 to hold the parts together. 7

The cabinet may be associated. with the standards in other ways than those shown which are for the purpose o't illustration only and not as defining the limits of this invention. Moreover, if desired the cabinet 3 may be made so that it can be dismantled. That is to say, so that the doors, shelves, partitions, top, bottom and back may be dismantled to facilitate moving though in practice this is not necessary.

The cabinet of this invention is preferably of a length slightly greater than the length of the piano and is supported on the legs or standards at a height greater than the height of the piano, so that the cabinet 01' its standards will not touch the piano at any point or mar or scratch the same, but will be entirely independent of the piano for support, a clearance space between the bottom of the cabinet and the top of the piano of from tour to six inches is preter ably left so as to permit the top of the piano to be raised while the piano is being played. The fact that the standards are provided with rollers or casters permits the device to be readily moved away from the piano to permit of dusting or the device may be left in position and the piano moved away therefrom.

In practice the cabinet affords ample storage space for music rolls, sheet music, books or other articles, and these articles when contained in the cabinet may be seen through glass panels in the doors or if desired curtains may be positioned interiorly of the doors and over the glass panels or said panels may be made opaque.

. A marked advantage of the present invention is its simplicity and the fact that it takes up practically no floor space. Moreover. it in nowise interferes with the proper tunction of the piano as would be the case if the cabinet rested directly on the top thereof wherein it would have a dampening effect or preclude the raising of the top.

It will be of course understood that the cabinetand standards may be suitably ornamented and provided with such finishes as to harmonize with the design of the piano with which it is adapted to be associated. Accordingly, the present invention is not restricted to the specific showing of the drawings, but is to be understood as commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An overhead piano cabinet embodying an enclosure of substantially the same length as the piano with which it is adapted for cooperation and standards associated with the opposite ends of the enclosure and extending downwardly past the opposite ends of the piano and resting upon the floor tor the purpose of si'ipporting the enclosure above the piano and independently thereof.

2. An overhead piano cabinet embodying a pair of standards adapted to rest upon the floor at the opposite ends of a piano and projecting above the top of the piano, and a cabinet substantially equal in length to the length of the piano and supported at its opposite ends on said standards above and in spaced relation to thetop of the piano.

3. An overhead piano cabinet embodying a pair of standards adapted to rest upon the floor at the opposite ends of a piano and projecting above the top of the piano, and a cabinet substantially equal in length to the length of the piano and supported at its opposite ends on said standards above and in spaced relation to the top of the piano, and doors on the front of said enclosure to permit of access into the interior thereof.

1'. An overhead piano cabinet embodying a pair of standards adapted to rest upon the floor at the opposite ends of the piano and to extend upwardly along the opposite ends of the piano to a point above the top thereof, a

:abinet extending longitudinally above the top of the piano and spaced therefrom, means for detachably securing the opposite ends of the cabinet to the standards to support said cabinet on the standards and inde pendently of the piano.

In testimony whereof I have signed the foregoing specification.

FRANCESCO PANICO. 

